ABSTRACT
Since 1975, transformative action research has been a central learning theme emphasized in the highly personalized Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral academic degree programs at the Western Institute for Social Research (WISR). People from all walks of life are attracted to WISR, because of our mission of personalized education, multiculturality and inclusiveness, social change and justice, and action-oriented inquiry. In this chapter, I aim to portray with specific examples some of the many different things that “Action research, the ‘WISR way’” has meant to WISR learners. Hopefully, hearing students talk about action research in their own words, and reading the project summaries will bring to light some of themes and qualities of transformative action-and-inquiry discussed throughout this book. To gain a tangible, nuanced, and textured understanding of transformative action research, it is important to hear the voices of WISR learners and reflect on the collage of vignettes presented here. It’s best to think of this chapter as a mosaic of images, with each image providing its own picture of, or angle from which to view, transformative action research. I have decided to let each quote and each descriptive vignette stand on its own, with limited commentaries.
